Ayurvedic Herbal Preparations

Urgent first

If someone is very unwell after taking an Ayurvedic or other herbal product, or a baby or young child has been given one that may contain mercury or lead, seek emergency care. In the US call 911, or Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222. Bring the product and its packaging. See poisoning: what to do first and poison help by country.

What they are

Ayurveda is a traditional medical system of the Indian subcontinent. The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) says Ayurvedic treatment combines products, mainly from plants but sometimes from animals, metals and minerals, with diet, exercise and lifestyle. [1] This page is the overview of the herbal side. For the wider tradition, see what is Ayurveda.

Evidence labels used on this page: established, promising but limited, insufficient evidence, traditional use only, evidence of harm.

How the herbal pages fit together

• How herbs are described. Texts describe each substance by taste, qualities, heating or cooling nature and after-digestion effect. These are traditional frameworks, not measured pharmacology. See how Ayurvedic herbs are classified.
• What form the medicine takes. Powders, tablets, decoctions, fermented liquids, oils and ghee are different forms with different quality questions. See forms of Ayurvedic preparations and medicated oils and ghee.
• Metal and mineral products. These carry the most serious contamination concern. See rasa shastra and bhasma.
• Standards. India publishes an official book of standards for these medicines. See the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia and quality standards.
• Single herbs. Ashwagandha, turmeric, bacopa and triphala have their own guides, listed in Ayurvedic ingredients.

Plant-only and herbo-mineral products

Many Ayurvedic products are plant-based: single herbs and multi-herb formulas. Their evidence is judged herb by herb and trial by trial, not for "Ayurveda" as a whole. Herbo-mineral products are different. A 2024 review explains that rasa shastra is the branch of Ayurvedic medicine dealing with formulations that include minerals and metals, particularly mercury. [2] In the tradition the metals are used after a purification step. [3] Purification is a traditional claim and has to be checked product by product.

What product testing found

Contamination is a quality and sourcing problem tied to specific products, not to every herb.

1. 2008, 193 products bought online

   Sample of products, not the whole market

   20.7% contained detectable lead, mercury or arsenic, in both US-made and Indian-made products. [4]

2. Same study, by type

   Moderate

   Rasa shastra products had metals more often than others (40.6% vs 17.1%). [5]

3. New York City health department, 2010 to 2019

   Public health investigation data

   Rasa shastra medications can contain very high levels of lead, mercury and arsenic. [6]

4. FDA, 2025 page

   Regulator warning

   Ayurvedic products typically are not labeled to contain heavy metals such as lead, mercury or arsenic. [7]

Details are on the heavy metals and product quality page.

What research shows

NCCIH says a few studies suggest that Ayurvedic preparations may help pain and function in osteoarthritis and help manage type 2 diabetes symptoms, [8] but that most trials are small or not well designed. [9] A Cochrane review of Ayurvedic diabetes treatments found glucose-lowering effects for some herbal mixtures but, because of weak methods and small samples, could not draw definite conclusions. [10] [11] A 2026 systematic review included 49 controlled reports on herbal products for cognition, stress, sleep and mood. [12] The evidence was concentrated in bacopa and ashwagandha, [13] and confidence in effect size was limited by heterogeneity, small studies and reporting quality. [14] Evidence for most single products: insufficient evidence or promising but limited. See evidence by specific practice.

Safer approaches

• Tell your doctor or pharmacist about every Ayurvedic product, including ones sold as foods. The NHS advises checking with a pharmacist before taking a herbal medicine if you already take other medicine. [18] See how interactions work.
• Be especially wary of products that list mercury, lead, arsenic or bhasma, or that have no ingredient list.
• Avoid products that promise cures or tell you to stop prescribed medicines. NCCIH advises not to use Ayurvedic medicine to postpone seeing a conventional provider. [19]
• The NHS says not to take herbal medicines if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have kidney or liver problems. [20] It also says herbal medicines are not recommended for children because not enough is known about their safety. [21]

Related pages

• Herb safety and interactions
• Product quality and contamination
• Choosing an Ayurvedic practitioner